Bettiol has recorded a string of top ten results at UCI WorldTour one-day and stage races since turning professional in 2014.

“Alberto Bettiol may only be 23 years old but he has been in the WorldTour for a few years now and has some very good results to his name, even recently at the Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian where he finished in sixth place against some of the best climbers in the world,” Ochowicz explained.

“Alberto has a diverse set of racing skills and we are looking forward to helping him grow with BMC Racing Team when it comes to the Classics and time trials, which I think will be a natural progression for him. It’s important to bring on riders who show this kind of potential so we are pleased to welcome Alberto to BMC Racing Team.”

For Bettiol, BMC Racing Team represents a chance to race with one of the biggest WorldTour teams.

“I’ve always seen BMC Racing Team as an incredibly professional team, one of the biggest teams in the WorldTour, if not the biggest team. Whatever my role will be, I’ll do my best. I am looking forward to the opportunity to race with a champion like Greg Van Avermaet and learn from him and the rest of the team for the cobbled Classics,” Bettiol said.

“My goal is to keep growing as a rider, as I have in the last years, and to improve my time trial skills, which is another reason why I wanted to come to BMC Racing Team, one of the best time trial teams in the world.”

In keeping with BMC Racing Team policy, no other details of the contract were released.